AD Trials Gets Green Light, Without The Need For A Permit
22 August 2011
Research into new waste treatment processes at the Anaerobic Digestion Development Centre (ADDC) in Teesside has been given the green light by the Environment Agency without the need for a full environmental permit
The ADDC - the first in the Uk - has been developed by The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) and Anaerobic Energy Limited at the Wilton Centre in Teesside for the purposes of research and development of the AD process.
While small scale trial projects have been subject to expensive application fees and regulatory demands needed for full environmental permits, a recent position statement from the Environment Agency on regulating trials of waste management operations now allows them to proceed for an agreed period without an environmental permit as long as they meet a strict set of criteria.
Engineering and environmental consultancy Wardell Armstrong helped to secure permission to proceed with pioneering waste trials at the centre.
Wardell Armstrong and CPI prepared detailed management plans and programmes to prove the innovative nature and benefits of the waste trials that will be undertaken at the site, as well as the strict controls in place to prevent harm to human health and protect the environment.
A regulatory position statement was then issued by the Environment Agency allowing the ADDC to proceed with its critical research for the first twelve months of operation without costly application fees and the risk of delays.
AD Research
The ADDCaims to enhance AD knowledge and innovation with the ability to assess a wide range of waste to energy processes in single or mixed streams.
It uses pre-treatment, digestion and post-treatment technologies that are rapidly reconfigurable to allow the development of novel and improved AD processes - exploring cleaner and more sustainable alternatives to traditional waste disposal and enabling organisations of all sizes to develop tailored ways of solving organic waste problems more quickly and cost-effectively.
The waste trials at the ADDC will test new technologies and processes including reducing the size and cost of facilities, increasing the yield of biogas and digestate, enhancing digestate quality as a fertiliser, improving effluent water quality, developing purification and monitoring processes for the injection of biogas into the gas grid, and supporting the development of novel AD technologies.
Darrel Moore
